Wingspan 24 to 30 mm. A relatively indistinctly-marked species, which has scalloped edges to both fore and hindwings, but more noticeably on the hindwings.

Occupying mostly calcareous soils.

The moths fly during July, and occasionally come to light.

The caterpillar is dark grey with paler stripes and orange suffusion. It feeds in spun leaves of Buckthorn.

It is distributed throughout England, though scarcer in the more central parts and south-west. It is rare in Wales and Ireland. In a recent survey to determine the status of all macro moths in Britain this species was classified as local.

Fairly frequent but not common in Leicestershire and Rutland. L&R Moth Group status = B (scarce resident or restricted distribution or regular migrant).